Motivaciones para el consumo de frutas y verduras en madres

Based on what was found in the study of the teaching and assessment of the speaking skill in a 10th grade of a public high school from Pereira, and whose principal purpose is to describe how the speaking skill is taught and assessed, the questions that were established in the research project were: 1. what does the exposure to English classes in a public high school tell us about the way speaking is taught and assessed? 2. What are teachers’ and learners’ perceptions towards the teaching of the speaking skill? Based on these questions, four findings related to the matter of the research were found, and one unexpected finding emerged from the study.

Related to the exposure that learners have to the English classes, it was found that the English classes are guided mainly in L1, are focused on grammar rather than the way that grammar can be used in a conversation, and there are not opportunities for practicing speaking in the classroom that can help the learners to develop the oral production. Based on this finding in a public high school from Pereira, the speaking skill is not practiced and developed, what implies to have learners with a low level in the foreign language for interacting in L2. In this way, the study serves as point of reference for the improvement of the English classes in a way that they can allow students and teachers to devote time in the practice on the oral production and not only teach grammar, and make teachers conscious about the relevance of using the L2 in the classroom. Another finding that relates to the first question is the aspects evaluated by the teachers in the oral production. In the high school, the teachers consider important the elements of accuracy at the moment to assess the oral production, giving relevance to the grammar and pronunciation rather than other aspects as the meaning and fluency.

82

For the second question related to the teachers and learners perceptions towards the teaching of the speaking skill, teachers consider the lack of opportunities of learners to be exposed to audio material as an obstacle for developing the speaking skill. Teachers consider the listening input as a base for the development of the speaking skill, so if learners do not receive listening input, the participants consider that they are not going to improve in their oral skill. Also, teachers and learners have as perception the fact that learners do not have the confidence to produce orally because of the low bases they have in aspects such as vocabulary and pronunciation, what implies for them a factor of inhibition, not only for the lack of knowledge, but also for the fear to commit mistakes. A finding that emerged from the study shows the relevance that participants give to the available resources in the institution for the development of the learners’ skills, the participants consider the use of computers and tape recorders as important support for their classes, but the limited access to those resources because of the numbers of the students and the schedules represent for the participants an obstacle for practicing the skills.

The researchers conclude that taking into account that the idea of leaning a foreign language is to develop the competences that allow the students to use the language in L2, teachers from Risaralda and Colombia in general have as function to use the English classes as an opportunity to help the learners to learn the foreign language and be able of speaking in English. The use of the L2 in the class implies for the learners to have input from the teachers, so if teachers do not use the L1, students are not exposed to the language, and it is difficult for them to have bases for producing orally. Moreover, the focus on grammar is a problem that is presented in public high schools from Pereira and that directly affects the

83

learners since they are not being prepared for a world in which speaking in English is becoming a key. Teaching English requires the assessment of the skill in order to measure the improvements that learners have in the process, at the moment to assess, the grammar should not be the only factor of relevance as it is happening in public high schools since speaking involves to interact with coherence and understandable messages, so teachers need to consider this factor in their criteria when they assess.

Related to the participants’ perceptions, the researchers conclude that the listening input is relevant at the moment to produce orally since it provides the bases and exposure that learners need in order to develop the oral production. In Risaralda, and Colombia in general, public institutions should provide the resources and materials that allow the teachers to make better English classes and give the learners opportunities and bases for the development of the L2. The use of TICs is taking place in the high schools; learners use them constantly, so the institutions need to provide those spaces for the development of the classes. If learners have the preparation for speaking in L2 based on the bases already provided by the teachers through the use of several resources that expose them to the use of the language, they will not feel scared and shy to use the L2.

84